Umbrella.



F. W. HOWARD.

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION` FILED MAY 4, I9I5,

Patented Mar. 1S, 199.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- F. W. HOWARD.

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. I9I5.

1,297,47I. PaIenIed Mar. 18,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 porting a plurality of umbrella ribs 25. Theseumbrellaribs 25 are referabl lformedx of round steel or wire o small d1ameter, for instance, they may be of agi# proximately one-sixteenth ofan inch in amstel', with thin flat ,ends 26; and near -their middlepoints these lribs are bent upon themselves so as to form eyes 27 whichare useful in' completingl the umbrella for Vsecuring the stretchers v28to the ribs (see Fig. 10). The umbrella may have as many of these ribsas desired.' In thepresent in-A stance, I have illustrated the umbrellaas being formed ofv six ribs (see 3).

4The center of 4the stand l20 -whiolf is to support the ribs in the4manner indicated 4is preferably provided with a central opening 29formed in a central block or rest 30.

I produce a sleeve 31 which is'to be the crown sleeve of the'umbrella.This sleeve is of simple cylindrical formexcept that at, its upper end,as seen in Fig. 2, the material' is swaged outwardly to form a mouth,lip or enlargement 32. The ribs 25 toward the flat ends 26 are given apermanent bend as indicated at 33 in Fig. 2. vBy means of the l hooks 24the ribs are .all supported so that the lat faces of these llat ends 26lie against the inner face of the wall of the sleeve 31.l

Withv the sleeve 31 and ribs 25 all supported.

in the relative position indicated, I force down through the sleeve 31the crown-end of the umbrella stick 34 from a position above the sleeveas indicated by the dotted lin-s 34a in Fig. 2, and as furtherindicatedby the arrow adjacent to the dotted-outline. This stick 34 ispreferably of wood or similar inexpensive and comprcssible material andis of suiiciently large diameter to fit tightly in the opening 35 (seeFigi 3). Considerable force is therefore necessary to force the stickthrough the opening 35 in the manner suggestcd, and this has the effectof crushing the face of the stick by the fiat ends 26 ofv the ribs. I-nthis way the ribs tend to form flat faces on the stick and may plow orimpress shallow grooves or channels 36 for themselves which extendlongitudinally from the .tipof the stick inwardly (see Figs. 1 and4).When the stick has been applied in this way, the sleeve and ribs-willremain inplace. The crushing of the face of the stick lat least lattensthe face of the stick adjacent the ribs and this tends to prevent thesleeve vand ribs from rotating. Under ordinary circumstances, thismethod o"f fasten` ing just described will be suilicient..

If it isdesired to make the crown of the umbrella doubly secure, Iprefer to accomplish this by formingsmall notches or recesses such as.the recess 37 in the outer faces of the fiat ends 26 of the ribs insuch a way that when the ribs are arranged as in Fig. Q,the'recesseswill' come against the inner yface ofthe Sleeve. Then afterthe stick is fastenedv in the manner described above, the

material of the sleeve is offset` inwardly i. a circumferential lineopposite the notcheM vby means of a chisel-pointed tool 38 "indicated bythe dotted line in Fig. 6. This tool 38, by offsetting the sleeveinwardly, causes an interlocking engagement between the sleeve and ribswhich evidently will prevent the sleeve from moving longitudinally withrelation tothe ribs.

'After the stick has been shoved home 1n the sleeve, thevnaturalresiliency or elasticity of the stick beyond the point 39 (Fig. 6) atthe upper end of the sleeve, tends .to restore the end of the stick toits normaldiameter and shape, and'this tendency is also aug` mented.when the exposed 'portion of the um- I brella becomes wet when theumbrella is used in the rain. This tendency of the stick 4to Yroll-theumbrella in a tight roll such'asvis commonly done with ordinaryumbrellas. I believe Iam the first to, produce a pa ercovered umbrellawhich is capable of b ing rolled neatly and tightly like an ordinarycloth covered umbrella without injury to the paper. I am aware thatparasolshave been constructed of'paper but such parasols when foldedhave been bul and have produced a roll of much larger iameter than thatof an ordinary cloth covered'umbrella. 4In such parasols, though thepaper may becreased,-

it is not creased and rolled about the stick.

I prefer to give the water-proofpaper a treatment such as will render itcapable of withstanding the strains due .to creasing and tightly rollingthe paper about-the stick. This is preferably effected by moistening thepaper. It is a paradoxical fact that although thepaper is water-proof,itis affected by moisture to a certain extent, the effect of themoisture being to render the paper more pliable and to reduce itstendency to crack when creased or roughly handled. This softeningtreatment if desired may 4be ac complished by piling the sheets -orblanks 40 from which the cover is to be formed in a horizontal pack 41,with moistened sheets 42 of absorbent material such as between thesheets of paper.

for iexample several hours, the paper sheets become very pliable and canbe'workcd vup ,1n very'much the same manneras cloth. 'if

cloth disposed l c If vsuch apack' 1s permltted to stand foraconlsiderable time',V

In forming the cover, I prefer to cut from the blanks or sheets 40 aplurality of cover sections 43 preferably of 'substantially the shapeindicated in Fig. 9, that is, of substantially triangular shape exceptthat the long sides of the triangle are in the form of gradual ogee'curves consisting of a long convex" curve 44, extending from the baseline 45 of the section, and a smaller concave curve 46 near 'the crownend -of the cover section. Six of these cover sections are then attachedtogether along their edges 44, preferably by sewing or stitches 47 apulied through a deep overlaid edge' 48 (see Fig. l2). VIn this way acover 43L is formed having a central crown-opening with van edge 49 (seeFig. 5). In addition to this, I prefer to place a plurality of eyelets50 in the edges of the cover, and these eye-- lets correspond'in numberand, position to the umbrella ribs. v

Il: order tov attach the umbrella cover to the crown sleeve, I' preferto turn the um* brella cover wrong side out and then apply Athe central.opening of the cover to the crowr. sleeve in a reverse positionsuch asthat di' 'ted in Fig. 5', that is, with the edge 49 A'of the umbrellacover lying adj-acens; to the enlarged end or lip 32 of the sleeve 31. Ithen attach this edge 49 preferably by tying the same with several turnsof a vcord 51 applied aropnd the sleeve at this point, preferably in themanner indicated in Fig. 5. After tying the umbrella cover to the crownsleeve in this way, the cover is thenv turned right side out and thenbrought down into substantially the position indicated in Fig. 6. 'Intying the'urnbrella.cover to the sleeve, it is .preferable that the ed e49 should project slightly beyond the e ge of the lip 32. Thi is done soas to prevent the stretched portion of the cover from coming into directcontact with the edge 32 which might tend to tear the paper. The edge ofthel umbrella cover is then brought donn and applied to the ribs 25 neartheir cuter ends, and so that the eyelets 50 in the cover lie with theirfiat sides against the sides of the ribs very near the extremities ofthe ribs (see Fig. 13)'. I then bendoutwardly the end 52 of each rib andforce the extreme end of the rib into the eyelct 50 so 'that at the endof each rib an eye 53 is formed engaging the corresponding eyelet. Irdesired, uiding means such as loops 54 may be provided on the under sideof the cover (see Fig. 10) which have sliding engagemcnt with the ribs.

After the cover has been applied, I may provide a cap sleeve or outersleeve 55 of larger diameter than the sleeve 31 and this cap sleeve hasareduced neck 56 which lits on the stick like a ferrule, and the lowerportion of the-cap sleeve may be'expanded outwardly toform a bell mouthor apron 57 wbichextends over the ltied point the cover.,

0n the stick, of the umbrella, tliere ma be provided a runner 58 towhich the stretc ers 28 of the mnbrella attach, the outer ends of thesaid stretchers being,- attached to the aforesaideyes 27 of the ri Y AIf desired, the corners of the umbrella sections 43 may -be providedwith reinforcements 60 preferably in the form of triangular shapedgussets of cloth or feature and other mechanical. eatures dis'- closedin this application are'covered in my (so-pending application Ser. No.29,790filed Ma 22, 1915, entitled Umbrell-a. 'yhe handle end ofthe stick34 is prefaper. ,This

erablg.T provided with a handle in the form ,i

of a knob l In forming the umbrella with a pa er cover according to mymethod, it is desira le to form creases such asthe creases 62 inFig. 8,.and disposed midway between the posins ef-the ribs. ylhese creasesshould be Lrxned while the paper is still. pliable, that is, while it isstill under the eect of the' softening treatment to which we subjectit.-

If the umbrella is rolled up tightly and the paper is still. under theinfluence of this treatment, the cover is capable of being rolled verytightly at a point such as the point 63 near the umbrella crown, withoutinJurmg the paper, and the rolled up cover" produces a very' neat andtight ta eri roll very similar in appearance to t at o `an ordinaryumbrella.

While I prefer to soften the paper Aforming the cover also because thishas the effect of making the paper soft like cloth and adapting thepaper more readily to the operation of sewing, it is more importanthowever that the softening should occur near the crown of the umbrella.Evidently, if

forming the cover could be dispensed with and the cover after beingattached to the umbrella frame could. be moistened or wet lin Athevicinity of the crown.

The completed umbrella may be opened like an ordinary umbrella becausethe flat parts of the ribs will flex readily to permit the ribs. toswing. out or in.

The umbrella may be held normally rolled-l up by means of a suitabletying cord '43h and button 43c and after having been rolled the covertends to resume this position.

While I do not limit myself to any certain kind of water-proof paper,-Iprefer to use an asphaltum paper or collodion paper` more sensitive' andis more quickly in# fluenced by the softening treatment. With collodionpaperit is not` necessary to meisten Y it to any1 great extent, but itmay suffice simply to work the Ipaper where the paper is exposed to adamp atmosphere. With v4desired, the softening of the paper before Theasphalftum paper is preferably moistened by placing the sheets in a packas described above.

i n If desired, the sheets of damp clothmay be omitted and a pluralityvof the sheets ofl paper simply sprayed with water or rubbed with a dampcloth on dipped in water, and then placed in a pack.

The asphaltuin paper absorbs moisture very' slowly and it may take hoursor days to get the paper to the propel' condition. This dependslsomewhat on atmospheric conditions. keepingV the palper stored andworking` it in a moist atmosphere. I prefer to use a paper known asmolding paper because it stretches Somewhat'r'nore than other papers. g

. Although these water-proof papers may take up moisture rapidly, thesoftening effeet seems to remain in the paper for a conp, siderabletime.

' c l e `the invention set forth herem 1s only one f It is understoodthat the embodiment of of the many embodiments or forms the in-v`ven't'ion may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice ofthe invention nor in my claims to the particular embodiment set forth.

v What I claim is:

1. The method herein described of making an umbrella which consists inattaching ribs to the stick together with a crown sleeve 'having anenlarged end disposed toward the handle end of .the stick, making anumbrella cover with eyelets in its edges corresponding to the umbrellaribs and with a central crown opening, ltying the edge of vthe centralopening to the sleeve adjacent the enlarged end thereof with theumbrella 'cover wrong side out, then turning the um- ,'45 l gg theeyelets at the edge of the cover` b rella cover right side out, andbending the ends of the ribs outwardly to form eyes en-v he methodherein described of making an umbrella frame which consists inSupporting a tubular crown sleeve, support- .ing a plurality of ribshaving flat ends so that the fiat ends of thev ribs extend longitudinallwithin the sleeve with the at l-sides* o the ribs lying againstthe innerThe best results are attained byV supporting a tubular crown sleeve,supporting a plurality of ribs having flat ends so that the flat endslof the ribs extend longitudinally within the sleeve with the flat sidesof the ribs lying against the inner face of the wall ofv the sleeve, andforcing a tightly fitting stick through said crown sleeve to crush theface of the stick by said flattened portions and thereby secure saidribs to the stick, and then offsetting the sleeve to secure the sameagainst longitudinal movement on the stick.

4. The'method herein described of making an umbrella frameV whichconsists in -supporting a tubular crown sleeve, supporting a pluralityof ribshaving flat ends with recesses in the sides so that the flat endsof the ribs extend longitudinally within the' sleeve with the flatrecessed sides of the ribs lying against the inner face of the wallfoffing a plurality ofl ribs so that the ends ofV the ribs extendlongitudinally within the sleeve and lie against the inner face of thewall of the sleeve, and forcing a tightly fitting stick through saidcrown sleeve to crush the face of the stick with the ends of said ribsand thereby secure said ribs to the stick. A,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto l set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

p FRANK W. HOWARD.

Witnesses: 1F. D. AMMEN,

A. DE Morir.

